How to care for your skin before, during and after skiing

Between the wind, the dry cold and the UV rays reflected by the snow, your skin endures more in one day on the slopes than in a week in the city. Ski skincare is not a luxury. It is simple logic.

Born in 1989 at the Spa des Fermes de Marie in Megève, at the foot of Mont-Blanc, Pure Altitude develops its formulas for skin that is genuinely exposed to altitude, not for an urban laboratory. This complete ski skincare guide takes you from before the first run to the slopes and on to après-ski, so that your skin comes through the season without tightness, redness or damage.

Why does skin suffer when skiing?

In the mountains, several stressors build up at once. The cold constricts blood vessels and slows microcirculation, while the dry winter air draws water out of the epidermis like blotting paper.

Then comes the wind, which sweeps away the hydrolipidic film, the fine protective barrier that holds in moisture. Once this shield is weakened, the skin loses water faster than it can retain it. The result is dehydration, which shows up as tightness, redness and a feeling of discomfort by midday.

The final factor, often underestimated, is UV. At 2,000 metres, radiation is far more intense than in the valley, and the snow reflects much of it back onto the face. The skin therefore takes a double dose of sun, from above and below.

Understanding these mechanisms is the first step to protecting your skin in the mountains: it is not about piling on products, but about strengthening the skin barrier before, during and after exertion.

Before the first run: kitting out your skin

A good ski skincare routine begins long before the first chairlift. Just as you adjust your layers before facing the elements, your skin needs to build up its reserves and reinforce its natural barrier.

Start with a technical base layer: the Lift4810 Concentrated Serum, a true Gore-Tex for the skin. Its lingonberry cryo-extracts, hyaluronic acid and Osilift Bio® sheathe the face in an invisible tightening film: the skin is smoothed, firmed and better protected against external aggressors.

Then seal it in with a nourishing cream such as the Nutrialpes Cream or, on bitterly cold days, the Cold Cream, and never forget your sunscreen: even when it is overcast, high-altitude UV rays pass through the clouds.

On the slopes: keeping the cold out

On the slopes, the strategy changes: the aim is no longer to treat in depth, but to create a shield that stops the cold and wind from getting through. The most exposed areas are also the most fragile: the lips and hands.

The lips have no hydrolipidic film to speak of. They chap very quickly as soon as the temperature drops, and a split lip in the mountains takes days to heal.

The Bons Baisers de Megève Lip Balm, with beeswax and Alpine honey, forms an occlusive veil that soothes and repairs damaged lips in a single stroke. Tucked into the pocket of your ski suit, it can be reapplied on every lift: the simplest and most rewarding gesture of the whole day.

The Ferme de Beauté's tip: always keep your lip balm in an inside pocket, close to your body. At the bottom of a bag, it hardens in the cold and becomes difficult to apply; warmed by your body heat, it melts just enough to coat the lips in an even film.

Remember to reapply your sun protection at midday too, especially after sweating or blowing your nose: this is when your UV shield is at its weakest.

Après-ski: the ritual that repairs everything

Back at the chalet, the skin is thirsty and the face feels tight. Après-ski is not an optional moment of relaxation: it is when the day's repair takes place. Start by cleansing gently to remove traces of sunscreen and sweat, without stripping a barrier that has already been through a lot.

Next comes the key step of any mountain skincare routine: nourish and regenerate. After a day of aggression, the skin craves an enveloping texture, richer than the one used in the morning, capable of rebuilding its protective film overnight.

The Rich Anti-Aging Cream with Rhodiola Rosea meets this need precisely. Pure comfort for cold-exposed skin, with Rhodiola Rosea, rosehip oil and hyaluronic acid, it intensely repairs and hydrates to restore the skin barrier. Massaged in lightly in the evening, it works while you recover from the day.

For the body, the Baume des Montagnes SOS Arnica is the SOS solution for tired muscles: its arnica-concentrated formula helps relax and soothe the legs after exertion. And one last reflex: drink. Altitude and exercise dehydrate the whole body, and no cream can make up for a lack of water from within.

The essential active ingredients of a ski skincare routine

Beyond the gestures, a good ski skincare routine relies on a few well-chosen active ingredients. There is no need to multiply bottles: it is their function that counts, not their number.

• Lingonberry cryo-extracts, antioxidant and toning, to prepare the skin for the cold and wind.
• Hyaluronic acid as a moisture reservoir, provided it is sealed in with a richer texture in the mountains.
• Protective waxes and butters to form the occlusive veil that keeps the cold off fragile areas.
• Sun protection, non-negotiable at altitude, winter and summer alike.

To these essentials, you can add a touch of radiance, as the cold dulls the complexion and leaves you looking tired. This is where the Precious Radiance Treatment with Tourmaline comes in, an untinted illuminator that instantly revives the luminosity of skin wearied by the mountains. A touch on the cheekbones, and the dull tan of the slopes gives way to a mountain glow.

A successful ski skincare routine is not about doing more, but about doing it right: prepare before, protect during, repair after.

If you had to sum up an entire season in a toiletry bag, it would hold just a few treatments designed for altitude. The Lift4810 Concentrated Serum in the morning, the Bons Baisers de Megève Lip Balm on the slopes, the Rich Anti-Aging Cream with Rhodiola Rosea when you get back: this trio already covers the essential needs of skin that skis.

One major item is often forgotten: the hands. Trapped in damp gloves and then exposed to the cold, they redden and dry out just as quickly as the face. The Secret des Alpes Hand Cream, with edelweiss (Leontopodium Alpinum) and a non-greasy texture, repairs them without leaving an annoying film on your ski poles. Once in the evening, once on waking, and your hands will get through the winter without cracks.

That is the whole logic of ski skincare: a few well-judged treatments, developed where the cold really bites, so you can enjoy the mountains without your skin paying the price.

Ready to build your high-altitude routine? Discover all our winter facial skincare in the Pure Altitude Face collection.